The Best of the Obama Profile in the New Yorker

This week’s The New Yorker contains a substantial profile of President Obama written by the magazine’s editor, David Remnick. Here are the highlights of what Mr. Obama says about himself, his presidency and topics ranging from terrorism to football:

ON SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERMS: “The conventional wisdom is that a president’s second term is a matter of minimizing the damage and playing defense rather than playing offense.

“But, as I’ve reminded my team, the day after I was inaugurated for a second term, we’re in charge of the largest organization on earth, and our capacity to do something good, both domestically and around the world, is unsurpassed, even if nobody is paying attention.”

OBAMA SPEAKING TO BIOGRAPHER DORIS KEARN GOODWIN: “I have no desire to be one of those presidents who are just on the list – you see their pictures lined up on the wall. I really want to be a president who makes a difference.”

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.